I Will Will Will Do It This Time!

cakelover_2

Hi LittleBoots
I had a lovely Easter break thanks, did you? I did indeed bake some chicks and sheep
Not sure how I am going to make the extra £182 yet, I have some stuff at home to sell and I have some other stuff from ages ago with info on it about making extra money, so I need to dig that out and put my thinking cap on. I am a month behind on my target at the moment so I really need to try and catch up!

Will be back soon with my list for May.

LittleBoots

Hello

Hope ur ok and gettting through your May plans x

cakelover_2

Hi All

Sorry I haven't been around, it's been a bit of a kind of life changing month for me! Broke up with OH a couple of weeks ago.It was my descision, basically we want different things and are at different places in our lives. Was still a very hard descision because it wasn't that I didn't love him. So I have moved back to the parents which isn't weird but kind of felt it when I started unpacking all my stuff in to the cupboards I used to use before I moved out. The feeling of not having my own place and not being able to put my stuff wherever I want is a bit weird, it keeps hitting me that I don't have my own space now. They live around just under 40 miles (I think) from work so I have to drive there in the morning now. I really don't want to leave my job though because I get on well there and at some point I will move nearer again. My parents are potentially moving nearer to where they used to live again but if not I will move nearer at some point. Unfortunately I just can't afford to live on my own. If I didn't have any debts I might just be able to scrape by, it's so frustrating that I can't do it. Not that I would like living alone, but at least I would have my own space. People seem to think though that because I have moved back to my parents I will be able to save money but actually because I am now going to be spending alot on petrol I am either going to be the same or about £50 a month worse off (depending on petrol), I do have somewhere to park for free though so that's good. Friends have offered their place to me too I have been really lucky but I'm not sure I want to be living between places all the time. It would save alot of petrol if it meant my parents agreed I could give them less so I could give my mates the money for staying there. I just don't know how I feel about living at a mates house. The main one is my friend who has offered for me to stay in the week and then go home at the weekends but they have just got engaged and although they offered I dont want to feel I am intruding. She said to think about it then if I want to chat to them about it I can, I just don't know what to do. As I have moved I have put a couple of things on my credit card (some things I needed and some I didn't but I have decided I will just have to clear it every month and only use it when neccessary until I don't need it, at least that way it will be cleared and shouldn't be charged interest). So I think I am going to start a fresh wit money as of June. I really want to pay off my cc by the end of the year but I'm not sure how I am going to findthe £2200 I need to do so! I did have some stuff to Ebay but in the move I just took it to the charity shop. There just isn't the room for stuff I didn't need to bring.
Hope I haven't bored anyone to tears! I will start with a new list next week in June. For this week(starting tomorrow) I am making my cousins wedding favours (cookies with sugarpaste decorations) and her wedding on Sat, so I will have a nice rest of the week then start again next week.

LittleBoots

Aww CL so sorry to hear that . What a rubbish time for you but hopefully it leads to better things x

LittleBoots

Hope youre alright

cakelover_2

Hi Littleboots. I am ok thanks. Sorry it took me a while to reply, just been really busy. Can't believe it's been nearly 4 weeks since OH and I broke up, time goes so fast! But I am good

Time for my June list! Need to get back on the moneysaving and making game now if I want to find the £2200 I need to pay off my cc by the end of the year. Been a little naughty and bought some clothes on the cc. My clothes were getting rubbish looking and I wanted to buy some different things what with becoming single. I think that's what happens, you become single and you then want a new look. Some things I bought are going back though.

Ok, so for June:
Change addresses on: bank, 2 x cc's, car loan, car log book, driving licence, tesco clubcard, V fest tickets, boots advantage card, coop card, HMRC (and anything else I think of)
Speak to the bank about tv licence payment that came out that shouldn't have, need to get it refunded
Start looking for MS's again
Start surveys again
Keep using cashback sites and keep looking for free cashback
Call HMRC about self employment from last year and check tax I paid last year is correct
Sort out and reorganise all my stuff

I will add anything else if I need to.

cakelover_2

Been re-budgeting today. Can't believe we are almost half way through the year already! This should mean I am halfway through my target on debt busting but I am only 35% of the way there. Looks like I still need to find an extra £2000 by the end of the year to be credit card free give or take the amount which I need to confirm and also incase there are any amendments to my budget.

Still got to change all my addresses from the move. Been a bit lazy with it really. I know it doesn't take long and I need to do it. Perhaps I should aim to do it all by then end of the month. Only thing is I think I will be charged an admin fee to change my car insurance (day light robbery!) so I may have to leave that till pay day, will see when I have worked out what money I have left.

Thinking I should write a plan of action/list money making wise for the rest of the year, to remind me to keep doing things like surveys, mystery shopping etc, hopefully that will bring in some more cash and keep me focussed. Having a quiet day at work today and have re-done my budget spreadsheet. Should be quiet here tomorrow too, so will get researching and started on my list.

cakelover_2

Long survey completed this morning worth £1.50. It was really boring, mainly about football, but I just kept thinking it's all money!
Haven't seen any mystery shops yet today, will be keeping my eye out. Starting to look again for ways to earn extra income. Has anyone ever used Etsy? I love crafts and thinking of trying to make some things to sell. Not sure what yet and I know it's competitve, but got to be worth a go. Does anyone know if you need insurance or anything like that? I'm sure there are people out there who don't have it but would like to know. I am already registered as self employed and have my small earnings certificate so I am all good there.

So tired today, not sure why. Going to see a friend tonight which will be nice. Don't think I will stay too late though as it's an hours drive home. Tomorrow I need to finish my cake for my course. Stressing about it a little as one of the flowers and something else I did for it broke this morning so I need to go and buy some more stuff to re-do it and I only have tomorrow to finish it. I could do without going to my friends and do some tonight but I do want to see her and haven't seen her for a little while so will be nice.

Think I am going to make myself a cuppa to try and wake me up! :coffee:

cakelover_2

Amended my budget again today. Still basically the same, just changed when I will save some money for things. Started a survey today but it filtered me out, was only for 10p but still, it's all money. No mystery shops for me to do. I want to get back in to this but I think you have to do some to be offered more and more, but if I don't get ones I can do I can't have them want to offer me more, if that makes sense, seems like a catch 22!

Paid to have my post re-directed yesterday for 3 months, that's another £17 odd pound I've put on the cc. Must not use it anymore except for petrol which I'm using and paying off as previously mentioned.

Got my last cake decoration lesson until September tonight. We are decorating cupcakes. I want to do a golf theme as they are going to be for the MD's birthday, hopefully they will look good. Without blowing my own trumpet, the buttercream I made last night was so good, it tastes like vanilla milkshake, best buttercream I've done! Work give me a pound a head (£11 as there is 11 of us) if I make cakes for peoples birthdays at work, so have got that and it has covered the cost of the ingredients so that's great. Already had some of the decoration stuff I needed to. Would have put the £11 on the cc but I need that little bit of cash at the mo.

Really needing to sort my room out. Must be 6 or 7 weeks since I moved back to my parents now and most of my stuff is still in boxes and bags. I really need to organise myself, I have plastic boxes to put things in and store, I just haven't really been in to do it. I'm hoping I find some things I can sell. Not expecting to find much as I charity shopped the stuff I had to get rid of in the move because there wasn't really anywhere to store it, but you never know, I've heard people buy all kinds off stuff on Ebay so maybe I should just Ebay anything i've got and see what happens.

cakelover_2

Picked up my first mystery shop in ages today :j it's only for £4 and will be a little less once I put the money aside for tax, but it's a few quid I wouldn't otherwise have had. Hopefully doing this one will lead to getting some more. Need to check on surveys and to see if there is any free cashback I can get.
Went to buy a magazine today. Picking my Mum up from the station today and thought I would pick up something to read as I will have about 10 mins to wait I reckon (the station is on the way home from work), but there was nothing I wanted. Just remembered though I have a book in my bag I haven't finished so will read that instead. It's a Richard Branson book which I'm finding very inspiring so I'm saving money and being inspired at the same time

Hope you're all having a good day.